Accounting glossary

What is safety stock?

Extra inventory held against demand spikes and late deliveries — the buffer between a busy Saturday and an empty shelf. Statistically it is a service-level choice: more nines of availability cost more shelves of stock.

Example

A line sells 12 a week with a 3-week lead time, so 36 units covers normal demand. Holding 12 more as safety stock absorbs a busy week or a late delivery.

Safety stock is the price of not disappointing a customer, and like any insurance it is worth what a stockout would cost.

In SeroBooks

Maya's reorder recommendations include a safety-stock component computed from your demand variability. Maya forecasting

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